This month’s linkup is all about drinks! Cocktails (and mocktails) to serve at your next party. Well, I’m all about my Vitamix these days, and while I could easily whip up a frozen margarita, I am more into making healthy smoothies and drinks. You can add vodka to this if you like, or really anything to make it more of a cocktail. It’s a wonderful drink that quenches thirst and fights cancer! That is, as long as you can crack open that young coconut.

For some reason, our family always made the traditional Green Bean Casserole with broccoli. I really can’t tell you why, but that’s how we had broccoli. So, when my husband requested this for dinner one night, I accepted the challenge. Instead of using canned soup and canned onions, though, I knew I had to make the whole dish from scratch. Of course, Alton Brown came to the rescue this time, and while reading his rendition of the American classic, I decided it’s easy to make this dish in three steps. And I did. Continue reading …

A few weeks ago, my uncle came home from a thrift store with a new cookbook. He boasted about paying $2 for a book with hundreds of recipes for cookies, cakes, and desserts. Well, I love looking at cookbooks, so of course I started flipping through it right when I saw it. It really didn’t have any crazy recipes in it, just your regular chocolate chip cookies, brownies…common things. After flipping a few pages I saw a cookie called a split second, something I’ve never heard of before. Continue reading …

Now that my son is 2 1/2, he is starting to like “Kid Food.” You know, the food they serve on children’s menus that you think to yourself, “my kid will be eating regular food, thank you!” to. Luckily for him (and me), I have nothing against kid food, as long as it’s healthy, too. Chicken nuggets are a great source of protein, I just don’t know what they put in the ones that are shaped as stars, moons, and hearts. Continue reading …

Growing up, we always ate spaghetti and meatballs on Monday nights. It’s not like we had a weekly dinner rotation or anything, that was just Monday night dinner. And we loved it. That was before “Meatless Monday” was a thing, anyway. Being kosher, we had a lot of meatless dinners throughout the week, so I don’t even feel the least bit guilty that most of my life was spent eating meat on Monday nights. Continue reading …

Before I gave birth, I stocked my deep freezer with tins and tins full of dinner. I made enchiladas, lasagnas, casseroles, mechshes, muffins, stocks, and more. One thing I did not have, though, was fresh veggies and salads. And after a few weeks of eating comfort food, well, I really just wanted a salad. Good thing we have friends and family who, despite seeing the contents of my freezer, rang my doorbell with freshly cooked dinners and tins of ready-to-bake ones, as well as side salads and some fruit for dessert. They must know how much food a nursing mother can actually consume, because I ate it all up. Continue reading …

If you follow us on Instagram, you probably know that I’m pretty much obsessed with my new Vitamix. No, they are not paying me to promote their product. I am just in love with it. I have a lot of kitchen gadgets, but none that I use as often as this one (because, let’s face it, while I’m in love with my Bosch Universal Plus, I can’t bake 5 pound batches of bread every day). I use my Vitamix at least once a day, and sometimes more. I make smoothies, juices, shakes, soups, and more in it. Recently, I found this muffin recipe that’s so easy, I just have to share it with you. Of course, you don’t need a super high speed awesome Vitamix blender for it, and any immersion blender will do, but hey, if you have one, why not use it? Continue reading …

Every year I make a big deal out of choosing and baking a special birthday cake. And for a good reason. Every year on December 17th we celebrate two special birthdays, so of course the cake has to be extra amazing! I don’t only do this for my birthday, though. I likebaking for everyone’sbirthdays! My specialty is delicious layer cakes, not decorated cake mixes or sheet cakes with too much icing. Last year, we had a maple crunch layer cake, which we made by hand and was a hit at our birthday party. This year, though, I thought just baking one cake would be a little boring. So I racked my brain until I figured out what the perfect birthday dessert would be, and settled on these ice cream sandwiches. Chocolate, ice cream, and cookies all in one! What could go wrong?

We all know that fried chicken is a classic comfort food. And while all the non-kosher folks make delicious looking chicken that they soak in buttermilk, we can’t really do that. I’ve tried using rice milk or almond milk with a little vinegar in place of the buttermilk, but it’s not the same. This is the real way to do it: coconut milk! Now we kosher folk can have (almost) the same comforting and crispy friend chicken in our own homes. Continue reading …

I am not a big eater of veal. I never cook it, and hardly ever eat it. But one Friday night, my mom decided she wanted a rubut, so I took on the challenge. Some of you may be thinking “WHAT?” and I”ll explain to you what this crazy dish is. Basically you take a piece of veal and cut a slit in the center so that you can stuff it (we Syrians love stuffing our food!). The veal is stuffed with hashu, a mixture of meat and rice, and cooked with either more hashu around it or some vegetables. Fava beans are classic, and many people make it with mushrooms, but I like to make it with peas. And add some hashu balls in the peas just for some extra meatiness (meat stuffed with meat with some meat around it…a well-rounded meal). Continue reading …